| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Cetacea |
| Genus | Platanistidae |
| Species | Platanistoidea |
The Amazon river dolphin is an animal that lives in freshwater. It is also called the pink dolphin and the botos. It lives in rivers and streams in Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru, including the Amazon and the Orinoco. The river dolphin is smaller than other saltwater dolphins and can hear very well. Because they don’t have much fat, these dolphins can only live in warm, shallow water. Few aquariums can keep river dolphins alive, so they suffer a lot when they are kept as pets.
Amazon river dolphins also tend to get more pink as they get older, which is how they got the name “pink river dolphin.”
Amazon River Dolphin Appearance
The pink river dolphin has that smile that dolphins are known for. Their heads are round, and their beaks are long and thin.
In some river dolphin species, like the Ganges river dolphin, females are bigger than males. But in Amazon river dolphins, it’s the other way around. Males can get about half as big as females and weigh more than 400 pounds (180 kg). The animal’s teeth are shaped like cones, which helps it catch small fish and other prey.
The nose of a river dolphin can be up to 23 inches long, which is about four times as long as the nose of an ocean dolphin. The river dolphin’s stomach has two parts, and it breathes through a hole called a “blowhole.” Animals swim with a lot of skill. Amazon river dolphins can move around rocks, tree trunks, and other things because they are very flexible. They can also swim forward by paddling with one flipper while paddling backwards with the other. With this way of swimming, they can make tight turns.
Dolphins in rivers also like to swim backwards. River dolphins have very big brains, and even though dolphins usually swim in groups, river dolphins spend most of their time alone or in small groups of two to four dolphins. You might see more of them in places with lots of food, but that doesn’t happen very often with river dolphins.
The behaviour of the Amazon River dolphin
Like their cousins in the ocean, pink amazon river dolphins are friendly and interested in new things. They talk to people all the time. River dolphins have special changes to their ears that help them live in water. Dolphins hear sounds through their throats, not from the outside to the inside of their ears.
The animal’s ear is also separated from its head in terms of sound. Sinus pockets separate these two parts of the body. This gives the animal better directionality when it hears underwater. The clicks that dolphins make come from an organ called a melon. This gives them the ability to make biosonar. They use it to figure out where they are.
The amazon river dolphin uses echolocation to find their way. The species is so good at using echolocation that a river dolphin could live even if it were blind. The animal can determine the size and shape of anything around it using echolocation. River dolphins can’t see well because they have small eyes. Also, their eyes are on the side of their heads. This means that instead of seeing what’s in front of them, they see two different things.
Researchers think that some kinds of river dolphins are blind and that other kinds just have very bad eyesight. Some of the animals die when they get caught in fishing nets or on fishing boats by accident.
Why Are Amazon River Dolphins Pink?
One thing that makes Amazon river dolphins stand out is that they often turn pink. Scientists are still trying to figure out why this colour is the way it is, but a few ideas stand out.
Fighting: Even though they aren’t mean to people, Amazon pink river dolphins often fight and leave a lot of scar tissue when they do. This scar tissue is thought to turn pink, which is why older men often have the most noticeable pink colour.
Camouflage: Amazon pink river dolphins live in rivers that run through the Amazon rain forest and often flood when it rains a lot. When there is a lot of rain, the mud at the bottom of the rivers turns red or pink. The Amazon pink river dolphins may have changed so that they fit in better with their environment.
It’s important to know that most Amazon river dolphins are grey when they’re born, and as they get older, males tend to get pinker. Also, this pink colour usually covers parts of their bodies, while other parts are grey. It is thought that males who are pink are better at attracting females.
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Amazon River Dolphin Habitat
Amazon pink river dolphins live in freshwater places like lakes, big rivers, and small streams that feed into those bigger rivers. Since the Amazon dolphin is fed by a lot of rain forest, it floods its banks for long periods of time every year. During this time, Amazon pink river dolphins will spread out across the large inland seas that form when floodplains fill with water.
You can find them in Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, and Venezuela. The Amazon pink river dolphin lives in the Araguaia, the Amazon, and the Orinoco Rivers.
Amazon River Dolphin Diet
The teeth of Amazon River dolphins are like the back teeth that people have. Animals, like people, use their teeth to break up their food before they swallow it. River dolphins will eat almost anything. The mammals will eat turtles, shrimp, crabs, and more than 40 kinds of fish, like piranhas.
Amazon River Dolphin Predators
River dolphins are eaten by large snakes, jaguars, and caimans, among other things. But once a species has grown up, it doesn’t have many natural enemies.
The pink river dolphin habitats have changed greatly because of building and farming. These things have changed the waterways’ ecosystems. Fishing by people is also a threat to the species. Overfishing is a problem because it cuts down on the food that animals can eat. The nets can also catch dolphins. The Amazon river dolphin is also in danger from pollution.
Small gold mines pollute the air and water with mercury, which ends up in dolphins’ bodies through the food chain. River dolphins eat a lot of catfish, which live at the bottom of rivers and streams, where mercury often builds up. Amazon river dolphins are endangered. The Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources has taken steps to protect dolphin species. It is now against the law for fishermen to kill dolphins.
Amazon River Dolphin Reproduction and Lifespan
Spring is the rainy season in South America. During this time, hundreds of square miles of rainforest flood and turn into a huge sea of trees. When the water gets deeper, river dolphins can swim between the trees. When the water level drops and the male and female dolphins are forced to stay in the river channels, it is mating season. Male dolphins mate with more than one female each year. This is called polygamy.
But females don’t get pregnant every year. Every two to three years, they mate. The brighter pink male river dolphins are more attractive to the females. Male river dolphins hit the water with bunches of grass or branches in their mouths to show the females how cool they are. They sometimes hold up a turtle to get a female’s attention. When a female river dolphin gets pregnant, it takes her 11 to 15 months to carry the calf.
The species of animal only has one baby at a time. A dolphin will nurse for more than a year after it is born. The average baby dolphin is about 30 inches long and weighs about 22 pounds. Most adult female dolphins give birth to their young between July and September. Babies stay close to their mothers after they are born to stay safe. The size determines when a dolphin is ready to mate. When a female grows to be 5.5 feet long, she is sexually mature. When males are 7 feet long, they reach the stage. On average, river dolphins live between 12 and 18 years in the wild, but they can live as long as 30 years.
Amazon River Dolphin Population
It’s hard to figure out how many river dolphins there are because they live in muddy, remote waters and don’t have a dorsal fin that makes them easier to spot. But river dolphins are in danger.
For example, there are anywhere from 600 to 1,500 Araguaian river dolphins.
FAQs: Amazon River Dolphin
Are River Dolphins Carnivores, Herbivores or Omnivores?
The Amazon River dolphins eat meat. They eat only meat.
Are River Dolphins Dangerous to Humans
Dolphins are usually not dangerous to humans. In fact, the animals are very interesting, friendly, and easy to get close to. They often have fun with people by playing tricks on them and trying to get their attention.
People say that this species has even saved people from sharks or helped lost person find their way back to land. Dolphins are only likely to hurt people if they are upset or pushed too far. If you see a river dolphin and want to feed it, you should know that it might be against the law.
How Do Dolphins Sleep?
Most dolphin species rest one-half of their brains while they sleep. This is called slow-wave sleep. During this state, they can keep breathing and keep an eye out for danger.
The Indus River dolphin doesn’t sleep like other dolphins. Since the animal lives in waters with strong currents and a lot of floating trash, it has to be careful not to get hurt. For safety, the dolphin only sleeps for four to sixty seconds at a time.
Are Amazon River Dolphins Actually Pink?
An amazon dolphin is grey and changes to different shades of pink as they grow up. As men age, they tend to get pinker and pinker. It is thought that their pink colour comes from being aggressive with other males, whose teeth marks eventually turn into pink scar tissue that covers most of their bodies.
How Many Are Amazon River Dolphins Left?
We don’t know how many Amazon River dolphins are still around, but it’s probably in the tens of thousands. This means that the IUCN has put this species on its list of endangered species because it is in danger.
Why Is Amazon River Dolphin Pink?
People think that the colour comes from scar tissue from rough games or fighting over territory. When it’s time to mate, when the water has gone down, and the males and females are back in the river channel, the brighter the pink, the more attractive the males are to the females.
Are There Dolphins In The Amazon River?
The Amazon river dolphin, also called the pink river dolphin or the boto is the only dolphin living in freshwater. It can be found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela, which are all in the river basins of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers.
What Is Special About The Amazon River Dolphin?
The brain and body of the pink dolphin amazon river are the biggest of any freshwater dolphin. Out of the five freshwater species, the Amazon pink river dolphin is the biggest and smartest. A full-grown dolphin can be up to 9 feet (2.7 metres) long, weigh up to 400 pounds (181 kilogrammes), and live up to 30 years.
How Rare Is A Pink Dolphin?
The amazonian river dolphin population is hard to count because they live in a lot of different places and don’t move around much between hotspots. It is thought that there are more than 10,000 animals.
Are Amazon River Dolphins Blind?
People often think that pink river dolphins are blind because their eyes are so small, and the water in the Amazon is so murky that it’s hard to see. However, they have pretty good eyesight and are known to be very curious, even looking into your eyes.
Parvaiz Yousuf is a senior SEO writer and editor with an experience of over 6 years, who also doubles up as a researcher. With an MSc zoology degree under his belt and possessing complete Search Engine Optimization (SEO) knowledge, he works as a science journalist for a US-based website and Asian Scientist (A Singapore-based magazine). He also works as Director of Wetland Research Centre, Wildlife Conservation Fund YPJK since 2018. Besides, he has several publications to his name on cancer biology and biochemistry in some reputed journals such as Nature & International Journal of Molecular Sciences, & magazines such as Science Reporter, BUCEROS BNHS, and has an abiding interest in ornithology. He also worked as a Research Associate for JK Policy Institute.
